Artwork drying cabinet and method

Abstract

An artwork drying cabinet includes a housing that defines an interior drying compartment. A plurality of removable shelves are provided in parallel spaced relation within the compartment. A hinged door provides access to the compartment for purposes of loading and removing shelves with artwork. The door includes a vent to exhaust moisture laden air from the compartment. A blower and heating element are provided to supply a heated current of air to the compartment. A shroud couples the blower and heating element to the cabinet and directs the flow of heated air into the cabinet. The blower sends the current of air over the heating element through a diffuser comprising a v-shaped baffle with a central elongated opening along the vertex. Controls are provided to regulate air speed and temperature. An optional timer controls the duration of a drying cycle. The diffuser evenly distributes parallel laminar streams of heated air above and below each shelf. The shelves feature relatively large openings that allow streams of heated air to simultaneously contact the top and the bottom of the artwork supported on the shelf. The dual sided contact maintains an even pressure distribution and facilitates drying.

1 . An artwork drying cabinet comprising:
 a housing with a plurality of shelf supports, said shelf supports being configured to support a plurality of shelves in horizontal parallel relationship, and said housing having a front end and a rear end;   a plurality of removable shelves for supporting artwork;   a door mounted to the front end of the housing, said door being configured to provide access into the housing and allow insertion and removal of the plurality of removable shelves;   a vent coupled to the door and configured to facilitate exhaust from the housing;   a shroud having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet of the shroud being connected to the rear end of the housing;   a fan coupled to the inlet of the shroud and configured to force a current of air through the shroud into the housing;   an electrical heating element disposed between the fan and housing, said heating element configured to heat the current of air from the fan before the current of air enters the housing; and   a fan control switch configured to control fan speed;   a heating element control switch configured to control temperature of the heating element;   an electrical power supply cord configured to supply electrical power to the fan and heating element;   a power switch disposed between the electrical power supply cord and the fan and heating element, said power switch controlling supply of electrical power via the electrical power supply cord; and   a diffuser comprising a symmetrical V-shaped baffle disposed in the shroud between the electrical heating element and the housing, said diffuser being configured to distribute the current of air evenly in the housing.   
     
     
         2 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the housing comprising parallel top and bottom panels. 
     
     
         3 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the exemplary door hingedly mounted to the front end of the housing. 
     
     
         4 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the vent comprising a plurality of angled horizontal slats. 
     
     
         5 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the vent comprising a plurality of angled horizontal slats and an annular collar configured for connection to an end of an exhaust hose. 
     
     
         6 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the fan comprising an axial-flow fan with blades. 
     
     
         7 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the fan comprising a centrifugal fan. 
     
     
         8 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the fan comprising a cross flow fan. 
     
     
         9 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the shroud comprising a channel that fluidly couples the fan to the housing. 
     
     
         10 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the fan and heating element being contained in a blower and heating element unit. 
     
     
         11 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the fan and heating element being contained in a blower and heating element unit and providing approximately 2000 to 6000 BtuH per 9 cubic feet of interior compartment space, and at least a 100 cfm flow rate. 
     
     
         12 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the diffuser comprising a symmetrical V-shaped baffle, with first and second panels joined by a filleted vertex, and a central aperture formed in the vertex. 
     
     
         13 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the diffuser comprising a symmetrical V-shaped baffle, with first and second panels joined by a filleted vertex, a central aperture formed in the vertex, and top and bottom flanges configured to mount the diffuser in the shroud. 
     
     
         14 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , the diffuser comprising a symmetrical V-shaped baffle, with first and second panels joined by a filleted vertex, a central aperture formed in the vertex, and top and bottom flanges configured to mount the diffuser in the shroud, said diffuser defining three openings through which the current of air passes, a first opening comprising the central aperture, a second aperture between the first panel and the housing, and a third aperture between the second panel and the housing. 
     
     
         15 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , each shelf comprising a frame and at least one longitudinal rib defining openings between the frame and the at least one longitudinal rib, said openings allowing heated air to contact the bottom of artwork supported on the shelf. 
     
     
         16 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , each shelf comprising a frame and at least one longitudinal rib defining openings between the frame and the at least one longitudinal rib, said openings allowing heated air to contact the bottom of artwork supported on the shelf, and at least one shelf including bottom feet configured to provide elevated support. 
     
     
         17 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , each of the plurality of shelves being spaced an equal vertical distance apart. 
     
     
         18 . An artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 1 , each of the plurality of shelves being spaced an equal vertical distance apart said distance being greater than a height of artwork supported on each of the shelves. 
     
     
         19 . A method of drying artwork using an artwork drying cabinet, said artwork drying cabinet comprising:
 a housing with a plurality of shelf supports, said shelf supports being configured to support a plurality of shelves in horizontal parallel relationship, and said housing having a front end and a rear end;   a plurality of removable shelves for supporting artwork;   a door mounted to the front end of the housing, said door being configured to provide access into the housing and allow insertion and removal of the plurality of removable shelves;   a vent coupled to the door and configured to facilitate exhaust from the housing;   a shroud having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet of the shroud being connected to the rear end of the housing;   a fan coupled to the inlet of the shroud and configured to force a current of air through the shroud into the housing;   an electrical heating element disposed between the fan and housing, said heating element configured to heat the current of air from the fan before the current of air enters the housing; and   a fan control switch configured to control fan speed;   a heating element control switch configured to control temperature of the heating element;   an electrical power supply cord configured to supply electrical power to the fan and heating element;   a power switch disposed between the electrical power supply cord and the fan and heating element, said power switch controlling supply of electrical power via the electrical power supply cord; and   a diffuser disposed in the shroud between the electrical heating element and the housing, said diffuser being configured to distribute the current of air evenly in the housing; and   said method of drying artwork using the artwork drying cabinet comprising steps of:   placing each of a plurality of pieces of artwork to be dried flat on each of the plurality of shelves, one piece of artwork per shelf,   opening the door to the housing;   inserting each of the shelves into the housing by sliding them onto the shelf supports;   closing the door;   selecting a fan speed using the fan control switch;   selecting a temperature is using the temperature control switch;   energizing the fan and heating element by turning on the power switch;   periodically determining whether drying is complete;   when drying is complete, turning off the power switch, opening the door and removing the shelves and artwork pieces.   
     
     
         20 . A method of drying artwork using an artwork drying cabinet according to  claim 19 , said method further comprising
 repeating the steps set forth in  claim 19  for a plurality of drying cycles; and determining an average drying time for a selected fan speed and selected temperature; and   timing a subsequent drying cycle to determine when drying is completed.